Rudder



Oct. 20, 1959 E. A. TAIVAREIS' RUDDER Filed July 3, 1957 ATTCIRNEYSUnited States Patent RUDDER Everett Alfred Tavares, San Leandro, Calif.

Application July 3, 1957, Serial No. 669,768

'1 Claim. (Cl. 114-166) This invention relates to a ship, and moreparticularly to an improved rudder for a ship.

The object of the invention is to provide a ship rudder which isconstructed so that drag and friction will be reduced whereby the shipcan travel faster and more efficiently.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ship rudder which isprovided with a longitudinally extending passageway so that turbulentwater which is churned up by the ships propeller will pass through thepassageway whereby there will be a minimum amount of drag or friction orresistance so that the propeller can operate at maximum efliciencywhereby the ship will be able to travel faster or more efiiciently, fora given speed of the propeller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ship rudder which isextremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and inwhich like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the sameFigure 1 is a side elevational view of the rudder of the presentinvention, with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the rudder.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral indicates the shiprudder of the present invention, and there is provided an upright member11 which has a body member 12 on the lower end thereof, Figure 1.

The body member 12 is provided with an elongated substantiallyhorizontally disposed longitudinally extending bore or passageway whichis indicated generally by the numeral 13. The passageway 13 has atapered or flaring shape so that the front portion 14 is of slightlygreater area and is more nearly round than the portion 15.

As shown in Figure 2, the side portions of the body member 12 arerounded or curved as indicated by the numeral 16. Depending from thelower front portion of the body member 12 and secured thereto or formedintegral therewith is a lug 17. The lower rear portion of the bodymember 12 terminates in a tapered portion or arm 18. The bottom portion20 of the rudder is provided with ribs 19, for example, as shown inFigures 1 and 2.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a rudderwhich is adapted to be used on a ship, and in use the rudder 10 may haveits upstanding portion or shank 11 connected to the usual mechanism onthe ship. The rudder 10 is adapted to be arranged rearwardly of theusual ship propeller, so that as the propeller churns in the water, theturbulent water will pass through the passageway 13 so that theturbulent water will not impinge against a solid rudder as is the casewith conventional rudders. Thus, the turbulent water will be able tomove through the passageway 13 so that there will be ice a minimumamount of frictional resistance between the turbulent water and therudder so that there will be a. minimum amount of drag on movement ofthe vessel or ship. The passageway 13 is constructed so that the frontportion 14 is of slightly greater area than the rear portion 15 to actas or definea flaring mouth or funnel whereby the turbulent Water willbe guided into and compressed in passageway 13. Furthermore, by havingthe rear end 15 of slightly reduced size, the water which issues fromthe rear of the passageway 13 will issue in the form of a jet which willhave a tendency to provide increased propulsion so that the waterissuing from the rear end 15 of the passageway 13 will have a tendencyto help propel the ship forwardly.

Furthermore, the rudder 10 is constructed so that it includes therounded side 16 and the tapered portion 18 and this constructionprovides a streamlined effect which helps minimize resistance or drag asthe rudder moves through the water.

The rudder of the present invention is adapted to be used in lieu of theconventional rudders now in use on ships, and the rudder 10 isconstructed so that drag in the front portion of the rudder will bereduced whereby water turbulence will be able to effectively passthrough the opening or passageway 13 with the minimum amount of frictionand resistance. This permits the vessel or ship to travel at fasterspeeds for a given r.p.m. Furthermore, the turning surfaces are doubledand this permits the turning potential to be increased and at the sametime serves to appreciably eliminate the drop in speed due to rapidturns. Furthermore, the turning area is also reduced since the jet ofwater issuing through the rear end 15 of the passageway serves to pushthe stern about a smaller axis due to the relocation of the expandingturbulent area at the rear of the rudder.

The lug 17 serves as a means of fastening the lower portion of therudder to an under bracing of the ship for greater security and it issubstantially parallel to the shaft in portion 11. The tapered end 18offers a streamlined effect and creates eddy currents adjacent theportion 15 which makes this area less dense at faster speeds and allowsincreased efficiency. The rib 19 serves as further stabilization andbalance as well as adding weight to the lower portion of the rudder.

While I have shown a preferred form of my invention, I reserve allrights to such modifications as properly fall within the scope of theinvention as claimed.

I claim:

In a rudder, an upright member, a body member on the lower end of saidupright member, said body member being provided with a longitudinallyextending passageway therein, said passageway having a tapered shape sothat the front portion thereof is of slightly greater size than the rearportion thereof, the sides of said body member being shaped arcuately, atapered end portion projecting rearwardly from the lower end of therudder, and stabilizing ribs on said body member in alinement with thetapered end portion at the lower end of the rudder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 99,639Coleman Feb. 8, 1870 779,961 Nicholson Ian. 10, 1905 1,800,135 CorcoranApr. 7, 1931 2,154,321 Briggs Apr. 11, 1939 2,803,211 Erlbacher Aug. 20,1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,104 Great Britain of 1866

